If God has truly called you to be like Jesus, He will give you a life of crucifixion and humiliation, and will place so many demands of obedience upon you that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by other Christians, and often, it will seem that He allows other good people to do things He does not allow you to do.

Seemingly religious people and useful men step on others, manipulate, and scheme to achieve their plans, but you cannot do that; and if you try, you will encounter such failure and censure from the Lord that you will be bitterly regretful.

Others may boast of themselves, their work, the success they achieve, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do that, and if you start, He will lead you to such great torment that it will make you despise yourself and all your works.

Others may achieve success by making money, or they may receive an inheritance, but God probably desires for you to have something far better than gold: total dependence on Him, so that day after day He has the privilege of supplying your needs, with resources from His invisible treasury.

The Lord may allow others to be honored, and keep you hidden in obscurity, because He wants to produce in you some fragrant fruit for His future glory, which can only be produced in the shade. He may allow others to be exalted, but keep you humbled. He may allow others to work for Him and receive credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work even more precious, He will allow others to take credit for what you have done, making your reward ten times greater when Jesus returns.

The Holy Spirit will strictly watch over you with a jealous love, and will reprove you for small words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which seems to never bother other Christians. So, friend, recognize that God is Infinitely Sovereign; and has the right to do what He desires with those who belong to Him. Perhaps He will not explain to you thousands of things that challenge your reason about the way He treats you, but if you simply surrender to be His love-slave, He will envelop you with His jealous love and pour countless blessings upon you, blessings reserved only for those who are part of the inner circle.

Decide then, that from now on you will deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He will have the privilege of restraining your tongue, chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in a way He seems not to do with others. Now when you are so possessed by the living God and in your innermost being are satisfied and completely happy with this special administration and protection of the Holy Spirit in your life, you will have found the antechamber of Heaven.

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4: 6, 7

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:7, 9

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

Written by G. D. Watson

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